Clip



Feb. 24, 1970 c. A. sEcKERVsQN 3,496,826 y CLIP Filed May 22. 1968 FIGB Y FIGA Unted States Patent Oilce 3,496,826 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 3,496,826 CLIP Clifford A. Seckerson, Iver Heath, England, assignor to United-Carr Incorporated, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 22, 1968, Ser. No. 731,103 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 25, 1967, 24,428/ 67 Int. Cl. F16h 37/00; B21d 27/22 U.S. Cl. 85-36 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND `OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide a resilient sheet metal fastener having a pair of tongues sheared and bent upwardly in the same sense and the free ends of which define a pin receiving aperture. This known type of fastener can be forced over a pin in one direction and the ends of the tongues then bite into the pin and resist withdrawal of the fastener in the opposite direction. However, this known type of fastener is manufactured by bending the tongues upwardly and in the same sense from a fiat strip of metal and consequently, in the finished fastener, the free ends of the tongues are, of necessity, spaced apart. This presents problems if the pin on which the fastener is to be engaged is wafer thin, in that the grip afforded by the tongues may be insufficient to withstand the normal operating stresses. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fastener of the general type outlined above, which is adapted to securely grip a wafer thin pin r similar object.

STATEMENT `OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a resilient clip for attachment to a pin of relatively rigid material, the clip comprising a strip of metal from which two tongues are sheared and bent upwardly in the same sense, the tongues having facing end edges which define a pin receiving aperture, wherein the ends of the strip are joined by two parallel webs of material extending lengthwise along the sides of the tongues, both 0f the Webs of material being crimped to draw the facing end edges of the tongues into closely adjacent relationship whereby the tongues can grip a thin, wafer like member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a clip according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is an elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a part of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the clip is manufactured, and

FIGURE 6 is an elevation, partly in section, showing the clip of FIGURES 1 to 3 secured on a terminal tag.

`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIGURES 1 to 3, a clip is indicated generally at 10. The clip 10 is formed by shearing a blank strip 11 of metal'to the shape shown in FIGURE 5 and then stamping it into the shape shown in FIGURES l to 3. The shearing and stamping operations can be carried out in any convenient and known manner and the finished clip is then rendered resilient. Preferably, the blank strip is formed from carbon steel and is rendered rustproof during the manufacturing process.

The clip 10 is formed from the blank strip 11 shown in FIGURE 5 by forming two parallel cuts 12 and 13 wholly within the blank and shearing across the material between the cuts 12 and 13 to form an aperture 14 and two separate tongues 15 and 16. The end of the tongue 15 is formed with a recess 17 and the end of the tongue 16 is formed with a mating lug 18. The material of the blank lying outside the cuts 12 and 13 form webs 19 and 20 which join end portion 21 and 22 of the blank together.

In order to complete the shaping of the clip 10, the webs 19 and 20 are bowed about the transverse axis a of the blank, so that the tongues 15 and 16 are inclined upwardly and towards one another, and the webs are then crimped to draw the free ends of the tongues 15 and 16 together so that the lug 18 projects into the recess 17. As can be seen from FIGURE l, when the webs 19 and 20 have -been bowed and crimped, the tongues 15 and 16 are inclined upwardly and towards one another forming an apex at their free ends, which overlap. Finally, the edges of the end portions 21 and 22 of the blank are flanged upwardly.

The clip 10 is used, as shown in FIGURE 6, to attach a member 23, having a projecting flat pin 24 to a panel 25 which is formed with an aperture 26. The flat pin 24 is passed through the aperture 26 and the clip 10` is then forced down over the end of the pin. The pin 23 is forced between the ends of the tongues 15 and 1'6 moving the tongues upwardly and apart until the clip bears against the upper surface of the panel 25. The end edges of the tongues 15 and 16 thereafter bite into the opposite sides of the pin 24 to resist withdrawal of the pin through the panel 25.

Since the edges of the tongues 15 and 16 overlap, they will grip a pin of any minimum thickness. As can be seen from FIGURE 4, the end edges of the tongues 15 and 16 are formed by shearing through the blank in a plane perpendicular to the major surfaces of the blank and thus the linear corners bounding the edges of the tongues 15 and 16 are formed at 90. The lower linear corner of each edge thus provides a positive cutting edge which engages the pin, as can be seen from FIGURE 4.

Minor modifications can be made to the fastener described and illustrated herein.

What I claim is:

1. A separable fastener combination comprising a wafer-thin sheet metal pin of relatively rigid material adapted to project through an opening in a panel and a resilient, sheet metal clip adapted to bitingly grip the elongate sides of the pin, the said clip comprising a strip of metal from which two tongues are sheared and bent upwardly in the same sense, the tongues having facing end edges which define a pin receiving aperture, the ends of the strip being joined by two parallel webs of material extending lengthwise along the sides of the tongues, both of the webs of material being crimped to draw the facing end edges of the tongues into such closely spaced relationship that the said edges, prior to engaging the pin, are spaced from each other a distance subrecess formed therein and extending inwardly from its 5 end edge, the said lug extending into said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Trachte 85-36 Murphy 85-36 Meyer 85-36 Torchia et al. 85-36 4 Hotchkin 85-36 Jones 85-36 Tinnerman 85-36 Tinnerman 85-36 Kost 85-36 Burke 85-36 Tinnerman 85-36 Seckerson 248-73 MARION PARSONS, IR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

